01/04/2018

Elderly Teach By Example - Good and Bad

By paying attention to your elderly family members, you can learn a lot about the things that you should do and not do when it is your turn to be old.

Anyone who has elderly family members knows that the elderly do not always do what we would like them to do. People can be very stubborn.

Elderly people who are used to doing things one way are often reluctant to adapt to different ways of doing things when they should. An example might be that it may be better for them to ask someone for help lifting heavy objects. However, they do not do so because they have always done the lifting for themselves.

Elderly people often refuse to give up driving until long after they are no longer safe drivers.

When confronted by family members about such things, many elderly people get upset and dig in instead of listening to the people trying to help them.

The author of the story suggests that people keep a list of things they will do differently than their older relatives. Writing a list down might make it more likely that people will remember the lessons they are learning.

Another way people can learn from the mistakes of elderly family members is by taking note of what happens, if those family members pass away without an estate plan or if they do not have end-of-life directives, such as powers of attorney. The problems that can result should be powerful lessons.